Of the 24 drivers who qualified for the 2023 Monster Jam World Finals in Nashville, Tennessee, four women hit the dirt to compete for season-ending accolades: Krysten Anderson, Kayla Blood, Cynthia Gauthier, and Linsey Read. And before track action took place, I had the opportunity to sit down with the first three of those racers to really get a sense of what makes Monster Jam so welcoming to women — and the solidarity that comes from competing alongside other members of your gender.
Full disclosure: Monster Jam invited me to join the series at World Finals XXII in Nashville, Tennessee, where it put me up for a weekend and organized a great amount of behind-the-scenes access.
“We’re not just invited here because we’re women,” Krysten Anderson, driver of a Grave Digger machine, said ahead of the event. “We’re here because we’re some of the toughest and bravest women in the world.”
As with many forms of motorsport, Monster Jam’s history has largely been dominated by men. The first woman to compete in the stunt truck series was Debrah Ann Miceli, known as Madusa, in 1999 — and she proved that the sport should be open to everyone. From one woman in 1999, to four in the World Finals in 2023.
“I’ve always been a strong, aggressive woman, and some people just don’t understand that,” Anderson said. “But when you walk into a room with women that have the same mindset, you kind of feel like someone understands you and this competitive drive you have.”
The handful of women featured in the series also display a diversity of attitudes and backgrounds. Anderson is young, coming from a family deeply entrenched in motorsport. Kayla Blood, driver of the Soldier Fortune truck, is a veteran of the Louisiana National Guard. Cynthia Gauthier of the Lucas Stabilizer truck, owns her own fabrication shop; she’s now on hiatus after announcing her pregnancy. Linsey Read, also a mother, will take her place in 2024.
“We all bring something different to the table, which means we can show up and shine for the girls in our own way,” Blood told me.
And that means the women of Monster Jam can confide in one another and bolster each other; they may be competitors, but they also describe themselves as one big family.
“I definitely like to be in contact [with women drivers],” Anderson said. “We text each other all the time, especially when we see each other do great things. And that means a lot, especially coming from a female — to have someone take time out of their day to say, ‘Hey, I’m proud of you. You’ve worked really hard to get where you are.’”
Kayla Blood noted that she was on tour with Ashley Sanford, who won the 2023 Rookie of the Year award, saying, “I’ve been through the ringer. I’ve had to hear so much from the boys, so it was great to be supportive for someone like Ashley in her first year. I didn’t have another woman to help lift me up, and it meant a lot to be that person for her.”
Their success is inspiring a new generation of female Monster Jam fans, who see themselves reflected in the drivers they admire. Young girls are no longer limited by outdated stereotypes; they can dream of becoming Monster Jam drivers themselves.
The impact of female representation in Monster Jam extends beyond the sport itself. It’s a testament to the power of inclusivity and the importance of challenging societal norms. When women see themselves represented in positions of leadership and success, it sends a powerful message that they can achieve anything they set their minds to.